The Maiden of Sunlight
by Fandum Fundum
Summary: "Then the spirit of Arie went up like a flame of anguish and wrath, and departed ever from Arda..."


**Something I just felt like writing after a little dive into Silmarillion. The story of Arien is, of course, entirely Tolkien's property. I simply wrote a little twist to this incredible Tolkien tale. If you've not read the history of Arien I definitely recommend it.**

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The night was an exquisite sight to behold. A vast sky of deep indigo adorned with a beautiful silver moon and glistening stars like fireflies... Fireflies... another beautiful sight only visible in the night. Oh how she loved to stand at the edge of Evendim, watching as the water slowly turned from the violet and blush of the twilight sky to the deep blue and black of the night sky. There, she would wait patiently in silence for the fireflies to come visit her.

Arien breathed in the cool air as she drifted through the forests of Arda, smiling as the soft breeze tousled her fiery hair. Even in the shadow of night and gleam of moonlight, Arien blazed with the mighty red fire of the sun. Only those who truly knew her power, however, could feel the change in her burning force... She was weaker. Though not by much, Arien's firelight dimmed when the moon governed the skies. For those few hours of night... Arien could be with her love, could touch her love with less fear of hurting him. The sun held a great amount of power, a power that Arien shared with it for the two were, in fact, one. From Laurelin, Arien, the sun, had been born. Every day, while the beautiful sun governed the sky, Arien, her guardian, was never far from her sight.

Suddenly, Arien drew in a breath of surprise. Smooth fingers traced the curve of her right shoulder gently, just barely touching her. Surprise faded into delight as she slowly shut her eyes and shivered from the swift caress, allowing herself to melt against the chilly touch.

"You know better than to surprise me, Tilion." Arien breathed, smiling softly when Tilion's cool hand moved to caress her hair.

"Forgive me, my love. I simply could not contain myself." Arien breathed a gentle laugh, then opened her eyes and turned around to look at the man she loved. He was the moon personified, with long gleaming locks and beautiful bright eyes of pure silvery moonlight. It was only under the protection of the night that Arien ever allowed Tilion to touch her... it was the only time that she felt, even if just a little, that she would not hurt him. She never hurt him intentionally, but the fire of the sun was, at times, much too powerful for anyone to be by her side.

"I could hurt you." Arien whispered to him, watching him closely as he smiled softly and lifted a smooth, cool hand to her cheek.

"I care not." He whispered in return, prompting a joyous laugh from the flaming woman. She gazed up at the man who held her love, smiling when he leaned down to brush his lips against hers, his chilled hands just barely caressing the sides of her warm face.

In the moment that Tilion's cool lips grazed hers, Arien knew. She knew that he was not her Tilion. But by then... it was too late.

Arien did not even have the opportunity to recoil away from the impostor before she was suddenly consumed by a shocking pain. Looking down, Arien realized that Tilion- No, the impostor had run her through with a black blade of utter darkness. Arien gasped, and watched in horror as the blade dissolved into shadows and seemingly sank into her bleeding wound. She screamed. She knew not the pain of being burned by flame, but the pain she felt then was as if she was being burned from within by something unlike any fire she'd ever encountered.

Dropping to her knees, the woman of fiery gold screamed in pain as the burning within her began to fade, flickering against the shadow that threatened to consume her. "Who-" Arien growled through gritted teeth as she staggered, her arms wrapped around the wound at her middle. The searing pain stabbing through her as if she were being run through over and over. "Who are you?" Arien managed to gasp, struggling against agony to look up.

The impostor with Tilion's face smiled down at her, then suddenly he became cloaked by shadows like a mist of deep fog. When the mist faded, Tilion no longer stood before her, instead, a beautiful man of darkness took his place.

"Melkor." Arien gasped. He was exquisite. A man of utter beauty with eyes as dark as a moonless night and long raven hair. He was adorned in black robes with a flowing cloak of shadows. He was captivating. What else could be expected of a Ainur? This Ainur, however, was no longer of the Valar. He was Melkor, the Dark Lord. He was darkness personified... and Arien despised him.

"Arien." Melkor said, his voice deep and strong. "I must admit, I am surprised you could be so easily fooled." Cold fingers traced her jawline, Arien growled and recoiled from the touch, grinding her teeth against the pain coursing through her body.

"Do not touch me." She spat.

"Would you like me to end your pain, Arien?" Melkor asked, ignoring her hiss and reaching out to run a hand through her blazing golden-red hair. His shadows now hugged her, diminishing her firelight and weakening her. Arien's fingers dug into the ground beneath her, she'd not even realized her eyes has squeezed shut as she fought against the pain that continued to pulse through her.

"Say that you are mine and I will end your suffering." Arien whimpered ever so slightly, her teeth biting into her lower lip. "I will call away your agony. Never again will you feel pain at my side." Melkor whispered to her sweetly, kneeling down in front of her to breath into her ear.

"I shall make you my Queen. All will bow to our immense power. None will dare cross our dominion, all will crumble under our magnificent power." Arien shook her head violently, and recoiled from Melkor's touch, crying out when the action caused a stab of pain to pierce through her body. Arien's body crumpled to the ground, the firelight aura that always hugged her was all almost entirely shadowed over. Her hair no longer gleamed with her golden flames, her skin no longer glowed with the power of the sun. Now, only her golden eyes glimmered in the darkness.

"Say you are mine, Arien." The cold whisper was at her ear again. Arien gritted her teeth, this time in pain and in rage. She was on her hands and knees before the Dark Lord, having been deceived by his trickery. It was despicable. Unforgivable. How dare he? Melkor knew not the meaning nor the feeling of love. All he knew was power, he desired her power more than anything else and that enraged her. He would never have her power. He would never have her.

"Never." The word was but a whisper, but the incredible force that pulsed from her body was like a mighty bellow. Melkor was thrown backward with overwhelming and massive burning force, and Arien's body crumpled to the rocks. Pain continued to invade from within even as all strength was drained from her. Her vision began to fade, she could feel her mind falling into an abyss of unconsciousness.

"Arien!"

Tilion?

Arien tried to move, tried to find his face, but she could not.

A roar of enraged pain rumbled like thunder.

"Arien!"

She knew his voice. She needed to find him, she needed to protect him. He could not defeat Melkor. "Tilion." She called out, forcing her eyes open to find her Moonlight. She found him immediately and what she saw horrified her to her very core. His back was to her, he'd placed himself between her and Morgoth in an attempt to protect her. And Melkor…

Opening his eyes, Arien saw a horrible fury in his eyes. A cruel fury aimed directly at her. A malicious intent so great that Arien felt herself shiver with dread. Lowering his hand, he faced her fully, not even acknowledging the Moonlight that stood between them.

"I will make you plead for your end, Arien." He growled coldly. "I will make you feel despair like never before."

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 **The love between Tilion and Arien in this little snippet is entirely headcanon. The almost forbidden love between Sunlight and Moonlight was very hard to resist.**


End file.
